polit: 1/25 of 1042

The UK will soon complete a record year for solar installations, almost doubling the nation's solar capacity. But drastic and overtly discriminatory changes to support for renewables may see solar installations collapse to 1% of current levels.more...

As tensions grow between US-dominated NATO and Russia, former cold warrior William R. Polk hears the echoes of the Cuban missile crisis - only this time, it's Russia that feels forced to fight for its vital strategic interests. We must hear the lessons of 1962 Cuba - and negotiate a just and durable peace, before we sleep-walk into a world-destroying war.more...

A report published by MPs today displays a shocking ignorance of scientific logic and the nature of risk, writes Rupert Read. Confusing inconclusive evidence of harm from GMOs, with conclusive evidence of safety, they reach a false and dangerous conclusion - that the EU should give free rein to pro-GMO governments.more...

The rushed passage of the Infrastructure Bill with all its pro-fracking provisions and toothless 'safeguards' is an abuse of democracy. And as it's manifestly against the national and public interest, it's also in breach of both MPs' and Lords' legally binding Codes of Conduct. Now Jojo Mehta intends to hold them to account - in Court.more...

Green leader Natalie Bennett may have been lost for words on LBC yesterday, writes Adam Ramsay - but at least she doesn't charge £25,000 for a speech or £10,000 to have dinner with you. Unlike Jack Straw, Malcolm Rifkind and other politicians so deeply mired in corporate influence that they can't even see what they have done wrong.more...

Modern economies depend on growth, writes Giorgos Kallis: the moment it stops, we all get poorer, government tax revenues decline and unemployment rises. So is it possible to have prosperity without growth? Yes it is - and here's how ...more...

The failure of the UK's privatized electricity oligopoly - expensive, uncompetitive and slow to adopt renewable technologies - is being repeated across the global south, writes Christine Haigh: over £100 million of UK 'aid' is supporting energy privatization in the very countries that can least afford it.more...

While mainstream media promulgate a fictitious message of Russian threats in the Baltic, Vladimir Putin's next big play lies far to the south, writes Oliver Tickell. The gross intransigence of the EU, the IMF, the European Central Bank and Germany are forcing Greece into a powerful new economic and energy alliance with Russia that will reshape Europe - and for the better.more...

The fossil fuel industry's big reaction to Global Divestment Day shows us something important, writes Kate Aronoff - they understand the existential danger they face better than we do. To win the battle for the world's climate, as we must, the victory must be total - and there is no place for neutrality or weak compromise.more...

Public transport often doesn't work for travellers because it's fragmented, deregulated and operated for short-term profit, writes Rupert Read. A Green transport policy would force operators to coordinate their schedules, integrate multiple transport modes, and entice travellers out of their cars building a real public transport 'system'.more...

Donnachadh McCarthy is facing 14 years in prison for his peaceful demands for democratic reform in Parliament Square, following his arrest on the order of 'Boris Guards' answerable to the London Mayor. In total four 'occupy democracy' protestors were arrested this weekend a stone's throw from the Westminster media pack - but not a word in the mainstream news.more...

polit: 1/25 of 1042

The UK government has warned Austria that it will 'embrace any future opportunity that arises to sue or damage Austria' if it pursues its legal challenge to the the Hinkley point C nuclear plant, according to a leaked document.more...

A month-long blockade of the Rio Tigre deep in the Peruvian Amazon has secured promises of compensation and cleanup for Peru's Kichwa communities who have suffered 40 years of contaminated waters from oil drilling operations in their remote Amazon region. But until the funds materialize, they are holding firm in their resolve.more...

The need to bring Britain's population down to sustainable levels was a core principle of the Green movement in the 1970s, writes Anthony Cheke. So why today's 'open door' policy on immigration? And the absence of any meaningful population policy? The Greens must get real on these issues - before Nigel Farage makes them.more...

This week the Welsh Assembly voted for a moratorium on fracking. But IGas company bosses insist that the Welsh Government is powerless to stop them pushing ahead with test drilling plans - as all the key decisions are made in Whitehall.more...

The latest version of the Infrastructure Bill released today has been amended to avoid defining the areas that will be protected from fracking, leaving that to 'regulations' to be pushed through after the general election. So if the Tories win, get ready for fracking everywhere!more...

An ancient grassland SSSI at Rampisham could be saved following a government decision to put an 'hold' notice on the West Dorset Council's planning consent for a huge solar farm, writes Martin Harper. Now Eric Pickles must 'call in' the case to a public inquiry, or set a truly dreadful precedent for our most precious nature sites.more...

There's a growing chance that the UK's 2015 General Election could bring about the end of its Trident nuclear 'deterrent', writes Jonathan Woodrow Martin, as its renewal looks likely to be central question in the formation of a Labour-SNP coalition government. more...

'Conservation' is destroying those who've nurtured their surroundings for timeless generations, writes Stephen Corry - the Indigenous Peoples who have actually fashioned those precious places that we now mistake as 'natural'. It's time for a new conservation ethic that recognizes them as senior partners - not as 'squatters'' and 'poachers' to be evicted and criminalized.more...

Current oil price volatility is a symptom of the end of cheap oil, writes Nafeez Ahmed, and it's destablising the entire global economy. The answer is a major shift to renewables - but the the International Energy Agency, which should be leading the transition, is in the grip of nuclear and fossil fuel interests. Instead the leadership must come from us, the people!more...

Faced with climate change, economic doldrums and collapsing oil prices, the government has the perfect opportunity to put Britain on the right track, write Simon Bullock & Tony Bosworth - reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, and invest in renewables and efficiency. So what's it actually doing? The exact opposite.more...

When US Trade Representative Michael Froman testified before Congress last week, he made impressive claims for the benefits of Fast-Tracking the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership, writes Ben Beachy. Just one problem - all those claims were either untrue, or profoundly misleading.more...

The drums of war are beating on the BBC and other mass media, writes Oliver Tickell - naked propaganda about fictitious 'Russian aggression' intended to soften us up for a war that could wipe out life on Earth. We must refuse to fall for the endlessly repeated lies, and tell our politicians that our highest priority of all is peace.more...